Obscured
by SuspisciousLookingStranger
Summary: It's been six years since Craig and Tweek allegedly got together. Craig wants to put an end to it once and for all. Tweek keeps having second thoughts.
1. The Falling Out of Tweek and Craig

Tuesday, October 18th

8:48 AM

It was another brilliant autumn morning in the quiet little mountain town of South Park, Colorado. The sun was surely beaming behind the thick, gray clouds covering the cold sky. The cool breeze was most certainly relieving when it didn't try to blow you off your feet. And of course the grass was a beautiful shade of green, if you could make it out under two and a half feet of snow and piles upon piles of dead leaves.

A sixteen-year-old student of South Park High by the name of Tweek Tweak was spending this fine morning taking a test that he failed to study for. He nervously drummed his pencil against the paper and gripped the desk so hard his hands hurt. The fair-haired girl to his left cleared her throat and he nearly fell out of his desk. The smallest noises in the classroom made him jump.

For you see, Tweek was a little on edge, even for him. This had plenty to do with the fact that he only had 4 1/3 cups of coffee that morning, the last of which had to be dumped out because he was absolutely _certain_ his mother was trying to poison him yet again. But the main reason he was acting so oddly, as he and that blonde to his left guessed, was because his boyfriend of six years Craig Tucker had chosen to dump him the previous afternoon.

Monday, October 17th

3:52 pm

School had just ended for the day, and the longstanding couple Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak were caught in the unstoppable stampede of teenagers eager to escape from their weekday prison in the most enthusiastic and reckless way possible. Craig led Tweek outside the main school building in a spot behind some bushes they both often visited to talk in private. Tweek noticed that, strangely, Craig did not meet his gaze, instead choosing to stare deeply at the frost-covered pavement.

"Tweek, we need to talk about something important." This caught Tweek's attention.

".. I think it's time we put an end to this," Craig began, his tone wooden and flat.

"H-huh, what? What do you mean?" Tweek was shocked. They had pretended to be a couple for so many years; it felt suddenly weird to think about going back to how it was before.

Craig continued his speech awkwardly. "I just.. think it's gone on long enough, you know? We've, uh, been pretending to be together for _six years_. Don't you think that's a little extreme? Besides, eventually we _are_ going to have to move on and get in real relationships. I just think it would be better if we… got out of each other's way, you know?"

Tweek paused as he digested the information. "Oh. Uh...alright then. If it's okay with you, I'm fine. What about the town, though? Aren't they going to freak out or something?!" Tweek's heart raced at the mere thought of the way everyone would react to the loss of the town's most beloved gay couple.

"Relax, Tweek. If we just keep quiet about it for a while, I'm sure that everything will be fine."

"Okay then. Uh..well…I suppose I'll s-see you around?" Tweek asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, su-oh, wait. If we're supposed to be breaking up, then we shouldn't hang out, obviously. 'Cause people would get suspicious, and stuff." Craig spoke quickly, fidgeting with the buttons on his jacket.

"Oh. Then I guess.." Tweek hesitated, "..this is goodbye?" His voice cracked a bit, to his embarrassment.

Craig nodded. "Not forever. Just… for a little while." He took a few steps back from his friend/ex-boyfriend and continued to avoid eye contact

"Goodbye-" Tweek started, but Craig turned and briskly walked away without another word. "..Craig." Tweek's smile had faded.

As he saw Craig hurry away, Tweek was hit by what had just happened-Craig had, albeit in a stilted, blunt manner, unceremoniously ended their relationship. Just like that. Not that Tweek was going to miss it or anything- not having to keep up the charade would certainly be a load off- but he felt a small part of him was now gone. And he just had so many _questions._ Why break up now? Nothing bad had happened...in fact, they were closer friends than ever before! Did Craig have his eye on someone, was Tweek "in the way?" How long until he could hang out with Craig again?

Because, in all honesty, Tweek _really liked_ spending time with Craig. Whether it was being in public pretending to be a young couple, or at Craig's house, just talking and playing video games, Craig could make him feel relaxed and happy for once. His dry humor and 'chilled out' attitude always managed to put Tweek in a much better mood. Craig made him feel really appreciated, like he was someone worth spending time with. And sometimes, with the encouragement of their families, they would go on walks together at night. And if the lighting was just right, Tweek could see the moonlight in Craig's eyes and the slightest blush on his cheeks when he squeezed his hand-

"Tweek! Are you paying any attention?!"

Tweek let out a squeak as he was jerked back into reality. He looked around wildly for a moment before settling down in time for the ear-deafening bell to signal the end of class. The blonde girl giggled when Tweek fell right out of his chair with a _thump_ and a "GAH!"

Tweek survived the trek through the crowded hallway and emerged into the mess hall. After a quick glance around the cramped cafeteria, his eyes found Craig sitting next to Token and Clyde. He waved apprehensively in their direction, but Craig fixed him with such a " _don't come anywhere near this table so help me_ " look that Tweek was forced to just squeeze onto a bench with plenty of weird kids he didn't know. He was, admittedly, slightly hurt by Craig's sudden hostility even though he knew it was insincere. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of cheerleaders pointing and smiling knowingly at Craig.

 _Oh god, are we that bad at being subtle?!_

After hearing her son arrive home from school, Mrs. Tweak immediately greets him by offering him a cup of coffee, which he eagerly accepts. His unusually flustered demeanor prods her to make a little small talk.

"How was school today, honey?"

"Fine! I was fine." Tweek answers, too fast.

His mother eyes him skeptically. "And how is Craig?"

"Oh, him? Well, um...yes...we're fine! Yeah. All good." Tweek's hand twitched involuntarily.

"Well..alright then. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything, sweetie." And with her interrogation complete, she left the room.

Tweek was collapsed on the couch, having finished his third cup of coffee, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He opens it to see a text from the now ex-boyfriend, Craig.

"hey tweek. hav u told ur parents yet -craig"

"no. have u?"

"not yet. i thought about doing it tmorrow + telling them to be quiet. see how that goes –craig"

"k. ill do it 2 then. but what if they tell everyone?!1 maybe we should just stay together?idkidk"

Long pause. Tweek bit his lip anxiously.

 _Oh god why the hell did I say that_

"dont worry bout it. –craig"

That was the last thing Craig sent all night. But Tweek wasn't quite done yet. Tweek wanted to get answers to the questions that had been racing through his head since that afternoon. He wanted to know if Craig didn't wait to hang out and play video games anymore. Tweek tried to ask if they could hang out at his house when his parents weren't home, or after school in the woods, and how long did Craig want to wait to talk to him? He asked if they could say they were just friends now. He asked if Craig still wanted to _be_ his friend. Did Craig hate him now? Did Tweek do some terribly wrong thing? What made him want to dump him?

 _Can't we just stay together andlivehappiplyeverafterandeverythingwouldbefinewhywhywhywhy_

 _won'thejustanswerohgod-! Wait, what?!_

But nothing could get him to text back. Tweek ended up drinking ten worrisome cups of coffee and taking eleven worrisome bathroom breaks.

Several long, anxiety-riddled hours passed. After giving up texting Craig, Tweek attempted to get some English homework done, but just staring at those questions filled him with dread. And why the hell did he need to know what "gauche" meant, anyway?

After having exhausted efforts to communicate with Craig and failing to be productive, Tweek decided to finally surrender to bed. He shouted a good night to his family before stumbling to his room with a groan. He stole a glance at the alarm clock. 12:59 AM _. Right on schedule._

When he awoke with a start the next morning at precisely 7:31, he could have sworn his pleasant dreams surrounded a certain dark-haired boy who always intruded upon his thoughts. And he would never admit it to anyone but himself, but it wasn't the sunshine through his curtains that kept him smiling a little more that morning.

At least until he got to school to see Craig and a cute blonde girl holding hands.


	2. Motivations

Wednesday, October 19th

8:02 AM

It was a brand new _beautiful_ October day in South Park, and Tweek was not going to enjoy it.

Oddly, this day started off perfectly. Tweek had actual good dreams the previous night instead of the frightening, paranoia-fueled images he usually suffered through. He couldn't really remember them, but he felt great despite the confusing, disconcerting events of the night before. It was abnormal for him to be able to feel anything but dread regarding school, but now he was hopeful and determined to get his answers.

He headed downstairs to breakfast, where his father made sure to give him all of the coffee he would need for the day. After finishing up his sixth cup, he slipped on a warm jacket and, after fumbling with the door for a clumsy moment, stepped out into the outside into the frigid morning air.

Tweek's uncharacteristically jovial mood dipped quite a bit once he arrived at the school, a familiar twinge of anxiety shortening his breath. A crowd of students and a few teachers had stopped to stare at him before exploding into a barrage of small gasps and hushed whispers. Tweek's eyes flickered around the gossipers, his heart pounding in his ears too loud to hear what they were saying. His mind raced with negative possibilities.

 _Why are they whispering like that..?! They must be talking about me and Craig! The secret's out already? But how?! …Agh, what's going to happen now?! "Keep quiet about it," my ass!_

He stopped biting his lip when he noticed a girl named Wendy Testaburger approaching him. She wore an apologetic expression, her dark eyes focused on Tweek's. He mentally prepared himself for their impending conversation.

"Tweek… I'm _incredibly_ sorry to hear about you and Craig. I sincerely offer you my condolences," she started solemnly. "I know how devoted you two were to each other, and all of this must really be taking its toll on you." She sighed sadly. Then her face darkened into a scowl, hands balled into fists. "At least Craig's exposed for the filthy cheater that he is. And Judy- I just _can't even believe_ that total bitch-!" She turned dramatically and crossed her arms with a huff.

… _what?! Cheater? Who the hell is Judy?_ Tweek was caught completely off guard, unable to process this new, gossip-worthy information.

"Wha-hUH?! Who's the-?"

"Honestly, I should have known she was bad news when she moved here last week. The first day she came here, we all thought she was kind of a slut," Wendy continued bitterly. "I mean, the other day she even told me that she'd had seven boyfriends already. Seven! No wonder she knew how to steal yours!" She scoffed and stared angrily at the snow-covered ground.

"I-uh-"

"And look at how she dresses in this freezing weather! I'd cheat on _my_ boyfriend before wearing a strapless top in the middle of winter," she ranted. "I'm so sorry Tweek. All of us girls didn't know how bad she was." The bit her lower lip.

"The-gAH-"

She had more to say. "Anyway, I just thought you needed a little sympathy. I've been through plenty of messy breakups myself." Wendy looked off in reflection, eyes softening a bit before shaking her head in disbelief.

"We-aaaAAA-!"

"I never would have thought you two, of all the couples here, would be the first to-"

" _Craig_ cheated _on me?!"_ Tweek blurted. Wendy's eyes widened and she spun around sharply, her long braid threatening to hit her in the face. Her jaw fell open in shock.

"You mean you didn't _know_?!"

" _No!_ " Tweek shouted, exasperated.

Wendy's eyebrows lifted in sudden realization. "…Oh." She placed a gloved hand over her mouth and pointed behind the twitchy blonde. "They're…over there." Tweek turned towards the school doors and saw a positively bewildering sight.

Standing in plain sight was a lovely young couple- a tall, dark-haired boy with vibrant blue eyes and, to Tweek's alarm, a tiny, short-haired blonde girl wearing an awfully revealing blouse. The very same mysterious girl who'd laughed at him yesterday was in the arms of his boyf-best friend! And right after Craig dumpe-ended the fake relationship with him two days ago! Tweek didn't need to falsify much of his outrage. He felt like he'd been lied to by who he felt to be his closest friend.

And all the pieces came together. Craig's sudden decision to break up, his comment about wanting to get in "real relationships," his unwillingness to be around Tweek, his ignorance of his frantic texts… it was all because he _did_ have his heart set on someone else!

 _She's not even that cute!_ Tweek thought, maturely. _Why was this random stupid_ slut _worth sacrificing all we had?! Six years of our friendship… just thrown away! He won't want to ever be with me because she thinks we're ex's! Oh, what a great excuse! Craig… he really did cheat on me!_

Tweek realized he was fuming. His eyes were narrowed in building anger and his hands were shakier than normal. Gritting his teeth, he marched towards the tall boy and tiny girl in a loving embrace. Craig had this irritating, almost _proud_ little grin on his dumb face. _How dare he!_ Tweek seethed. _How dare he be so dishonest with me and then turn around and be_ happy _about it?!_ The blonde, or rather, _Judy,_ wore such an elated expression Tweek wished he could wipe that giddy smile off her pretty face. _And,_ Tweek mused _, that's just what I'm going to do_. He slowed down his gait as he approached the two further.

.. _Right now._ He took a few more apprehensive steps. A nervous tension found its way into his lungs _._

 _Riight…Nggh, oh, what's the point?! What could I possibly say to them?!_

He suddenly became conscious of the crowd of students hanging on to his every word, watching his every move. He stopped walking.

 _Ahh, I can't confront them now! I can't do this!_

Just as Tweek takes his first hesitant step on pavement, the tall boy in blue turned towards him. Tweek quailed a bit under Craig's intense gaze. Craig seemed only mildly surprised by Tweek's presence in contrast to Judy, who immediately stepped back from Craig and stared at Tweek with her hands clasped in front of her face. The crowd made an obnoxious "oooooh!" noise, like the real drama had begun.

Craig spoke first. "..Tweek." His tone was unreadable.

"C-Craig." He managed to get the word out evenly, trying to hide any hint of hurt in his voice.

Craig nodded at him and pulled Judy closer and continued to fix Tweek with his stare unblinkingly. She smiled and waved awkwardly. The little gesture made Tweek feel like Craig didn't even consider how the two of them made him feel. Not just lied to and manipulated, but… something else. Tweek tried to push aside the unspoken, unthought-of _j-word_ and looked and Craig with a face that just said "Why? Why did you shake me off for _her?_ "

And that was the question that stuck with him all day. As the dreaded bell signaled the start of classes, the groaning students filling the hallways, Tweek could still see Craig being led away by Judy, leaving Tweek alone with his thoughts.


End file.
